Gray and Fischer have selected Louisville Arena Authority Chairman Jim Host, who is a former state commerce secretary, to lead the initiative.

“Jim Host has credibility in both Louisville and Lexington and is the right person to lead us in a new economic direction,” Fischer said in a news release. “He understands the economies of both cities better than anyone else in the commonwealth and he understands that, for Kentucky as a whole to be successful, Louisville and Lexington must be successful.”

The project will cost $250,000 and be funded with private dollars raised by Commerce Lexington and Greater Louisville Inc., the two cities’ chamber of commerce.